Answers and comments of question 'How do I let James Joyce--and others--develop my prose without...?'http://www.grammarly.com/answers/questions/12441-how-do-i-let-james-joyce-and-others-develop-my-prose-without/2015-03-03T14:22:35Z<p>
I have one thing to add to Patty&#39;s excellent answer.</p>
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Focus first on what the writer is saying -- the content and meaning -- rather than the&nbsp;writer&#39;s style. Joyce is a great writer&nbsp;primarily because what he&nbsp;said he said had lasting truth -- and secondarily&nbsp;because he was a great stylist.</p>
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If&nbsp;a writer&#39;s words carry no essential meaning or truth,&nbsp;no amount of wordsmithing can save the day.</p>
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I hope this helps.</p>
http://www.grammarly.com/answers/questions/12441-how-do-i-let-james-joyce-and-others-develop-my-prose-without/#answer_16795
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I have one thing to add to Patty&#39;s excellent answer.</p>
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Focus first on what the writer is saying -- the content and meaning -- rather than the&nbsp;writer&#39;s style. Joyce is a great writer&nbsp;primarily because what he&nbsp;said he said had lasting truth -- and secondarily&nbsp;because he was a great stylist.</p>
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If&nbsp;a writer&#39;s words carry no essential meaning or truth,&nbsp;no amount of wordsmithing can save the day.</p>
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I hope this helps.</p>
<p><small>answered <a href="/answers/questions/12441-how-do-i-let-james-joyce-and-others-develop-my-prose-without/#answer_16795">Feb 17 &#39;13 at 19:48</a> by <a href="/answers/users/31555/jeff-pribyl" class="profile">Jeff Pribyl</a>, Grammarly Fellow</small></p><p>
I am not a professional writer, editor, or teacher, Iain, but that isn&#39;t going to stop me from offering my two cents.&nbsp; ;-)</p>
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I think that part of the best answer for you will depend on what sort of writing you are doing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you intend to earn something for your writing?&nbsp; If so, who is your audience?&nbsp; There are modern masters for any genre you can think of.&nbsp; It depends on what you want to master most.&nbsp; If your goal is to die with&nbsp;a legacy of being a great writer, you might achieve that but the only people who know it are your grandchildren.&nbsp; If your goal is to become&nbsp;a well-known, popular, or wealthy writer, then you need to look to modern writers who have mastered the ability to become popular and wealthy.&nbsp; What do those writers do?&nbsp; How do they attract readers?&nbsp;</p>
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There are writing groups, in person and online, that you can join.&nbsp; These groups share their material and offer feedback to each other.&nbsp; This could be a good place for you to hone your skills while still maintaining your own voice and personality.&nbsp; As for your issues with punctuation, perhaps more study and practice will help resolve most of those problems.&nbsp;</p>
http://www.grammarly.com/answers/questions/12441-how-do-i-let-james-joyce-and-others-develop-my-prose-without/#answer_16773
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I am not a professional writer, editor, or teacher, Iain, but that isn&#39;t going to stop me from offering my two cents.&nbsp; ;-)</p>
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&nbsp;</p>
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I think that part of the best answer for you will depend on what sort of writing you are doing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you intend to earn something for your writing?&nbsp; If so, who is your audience?&nbsp; There are modern masters for any genre you can think of.&nbsp; It depends on what you want to master most.&nbsp; If your goal is to die with&nbsp;a legacy of being a great writer, you might achieve that but the only people who know it are your grandchildren.&nbsp; If your goal is to become&nbsp;a well-known, popular, or wealthy writer, then you need to look to modern writers who have mastered the ability to become popular and wealthy.&nbsp; What do those writers do?&nbsp; How do they attract readers?&nbsp;</p>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
There are writing groups, in person and online, that you can join.&nbsp; These groups share their material and offer feedback to each other.&nbsp; This could be a good place for you to hone your skills while still maintaining your own voice and personality.&nbsp; As for your issues with punctuation, perhaps more study and practice will help resolve most of those problems.&nbsp;</p>
<p><small>answered <a href="/answers/questions/12441-how-do-i-let-james-joyce-and-others-develop-my-prose-without/#answer_16773">Feb 17 &#39;13 at 02:52</a> by <a href="/answers/users/24140/patty-t" class="profile">Patty T</a>, Grammarly Fellow</small></p>